HC Deb 21 April 1989 vol 151 c340W
Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the number of body searches, cell searches and cell changes and strip searches carried out on category A prisoners being held at Winchester police station during September and October 1988.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

No category A prisoners were held at Winchester police station during the period in question.

Mr. McNamara

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will give details of the number of body searches, cell searches and cell changes and strip searches carried out on each of the category A prisoners being held at Her Majesty's Prison, Durham, monthly since Septembr 1988.

Mr. Douglas Hogg

As the hon. Member knows, records are not kept of the occasions when rub down seaching or "frisking" is carried out in prisons and it is not the practice to disclose detailed information about security arrangements such as that requested about the frequency of cell searches and cell changes.

Comprehensive records of strip searches are available only in respect of category A women prisoners, of whom there were three in Durham prison between 1 September and 30 October, and four between 31 October and 31 March. The number of occasions on which each was strip searched in each month from September to March is shown in the following table.

Average time between receipt of application and issue of passport (working days) 16 April 1989
Passport Office Working days
London 20
Glasgow 37
Peterborough 27
Newport 33
Liverpool 46
Belfast 4